Ibn Wahshiyya

Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn Ali ibn Qays ibn al-Mukhtar al-Kurdani, known as Ibn Wahshiyya, from Janbula and Qaysin. Ibn al-Nadim counts him among the eloquent Nabateans who spoke the language of the Chaldeans. ²

Ibn al-Nadim attributes to him in the craft of alchemy the Great Book of Principles, the Small Book of Principles, al-Mudarraja (The Ladder), al-Madhakirat fi al-San'a (Discussions on the Craft), and a book containing twenty books. He says that Ibn Wahshiyya had a share in magic, sleight of hand and incantations. ³

Ibn Wahshiyya mentions the copy of pens with which books of the craft and of magic are written. Ibn al-Nadim read it in his own hand, and read a copy of it in the hand of Abu al-Hasan ibn al-Kufi. ³

The Fihrist in its reports on magicians says that he claimed to be a magician who performed the works of talismans. ⁴ The description rests on a single source, and those with expertise are the ones who should weigh its value.